Losing weight can be challenging. Most people hit their goal weight, and then old habits creep back in. In this way, they get back where they started. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right strategies, you can sustain your weight in the long term.
Below are some practical and sustainable ways to keep your weight steady over time without feeling deprived or burned out.
Keep a food and weight diary
Tracking what you eat and weighing yourself regularly can be incredibly powerful. When you write things down, whether it’s in an app or a notebook, you are more aware of your choices.
A food diary isn’t about obsessing over every calorie; it’s more about patterns. For example, you might notice you snack way more when you’re stressed, or weekends are when things get a little out of control. You don’t have to freak out if you’re up a pound or two. It is about catching a slow gain before it turns into a big one.
Engage in regular physical activity and exercise
Exercise is not just for weight loss. Once you’ve lost weight, your body usually burns fewer calories than before. So, to maintain your weight, exercise on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean spending hours in the gym. It can be brisk walking every evening, cycling to work, swimming laps, or following short workout videos at home. Strength training is especially helpful for maintenance because it builds muscle
Eliminate liquid calories
Liquid calories are sneaky. You might drink them without even realizing how much they are adding to your daily intake. Soda, sweetened coffee drinks, fruit juices, and sports drinks can easily rack up hundreds of calories without filling you up at all.
If you’re serious about maintaining your weight, cutting back on or completely removing these is a smart move. Moreover, you can use sugar free drink mixes to control calories while satisfying your taste buds.
Eat mindfully
It’s easy to overeat when you’re distracted, like watching TV, scrolling on your phone, or working at your desk. Mindful eating is about paying attention to your food, savoring each bite, and noticing when you are satisfied.
Also, tune in to your body’s hunger signals. Are you actually hungry, or just bored, stressed, or tired? If it’s not real hunger, find another way to deal with the feeling, for example short walk or a glass of water. The more you practice mindful eating, the less likely you are to slip into old overeating habits that can creep weight back on.
Stimulus and cue control
The atmosphere can greatly influence our eating habits. If there’s a bag of cookies sitting on the counter, you’re more likely to grab one every time you walk past. That is stimulus control in action.
So, to support your weight goals, you need to set up your surroundings. Keep tempting, high-calorie snacks out of sight and stock your kitchen with healthy options. Cue control can also trigger overeating. Once you know your cues, you can change them, like swapping the TV snack for herbal tea. It’s about making the healthy choice, so you’re not constantly battling temptation.